ESPN's Test rugby review: Player of the weekend, flop & more

Scotland came within a whisker of a famous win over New Zealand, while England outlasted Australia and Wales stuttered against Georgia.

But who caught the eye and who had a weekend to forget?

Player of the weekend

Stuart Hogg almost engineered a famous win for Scotland over New Zealand. Duncan McGlynn/Action Plus via Getty Images

Stuart Hogg (Scotland). Conor Murray's stray elbow cost Hogg the chance to face the All Blacks with the British & Irish Lions over the summer, and the Scotland fullback made up for lost time at Murrayfield Saturday as he almost inspired a famous win for the hosts. Unbowed by Waisake Naholo's body check as he collected a high ball in the 28th minute, Hogg took the game to New Zealand, making 117 metres with ball in hand while beating six defenders and making three clean breaks. His final-minute dart through the All Blacks defence almost produced a game-winning score, but his offload went forward as he was bundled into touch.

Australia. There was a real sense before kick off at Twickenham that England's unbeaten home record under Eddie Jones could be under threat. The Wallabies arrived in London on the back of a couple of encouraging wins over New Zealand and Wales but shorn of the talents of Adam Coleman in the engine room, Australia were unable to compete with England for 80 minutes. Coach Michael Cheika bemoaned his side's luck, but referee Ben O'Keeffe got every decision spot on, however tight those call were. That the Wallabies did so little despite having 56 percent possession, should be his real concern.

Coaching call of the weekend

Danny Care made a big impact off the bench against Australia. Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images

Eddie Jones has long talked up England's 'finishers' and they again delivered for him Saturday as Australia were blown away with three late tries. At the heart of all three was former Sheffield Wednesday trainee Danny Care, who used his footballing ability to spot space in behind the Wallabies defence to create tries for Jonathan Joseph and Jonny May. The creator then turned scorer, as Care gleefully dived over for the try that put a seal on England's 30-6 win. Following the match, Jones compared his replacement scrum-half to Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez.

Biggest refereeing/TMO call

Players react as Georgia are penalised at the end of the Test in Wales. GEOFF CADDICK/AFP/Getty Images

Wales legend Barry John described it as a "dubious situation" while ex-international prop Adam Jones suggested his country had pulled the "fastest one ever", but did Warren Gatland's side do anything wrong? With Tomas Francis shown a yellow card as the clock ticked towards 80 minutes, Wales decided to bring hooker Kristian Dacey back on rather than their starting tighthead, Leon Brown, who Gatland insisted had cramped up. Referee Mathieu Raynal subsequently called for uncontested scrums, leading Georgia to kick to the corner -- something they should not have been allowed to do. The game, and the confusion, was brought to an end as the Georgians lost possession on the Welsh line, but if Brown was indeed hurt then the hosts had done nothing wrong.

Storyline to keep an eye on

Brad Shields in action against the Lions. Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

England and New Zealand are not scheduled to meet for another 12 months, but already the hype for that November Test is ratcheting up. The All Blacks have sat atop the world rankings for eight uninterrupted years, but England have made it their mission since Jones became coach to knock them off that perch. Saturday's victory over Australia put them one step closer to achieving that goal, and off the field Sunday night they may well have won another, more significant battle. The All Blacks withdrew an offer of a call up for Hurricanes back row Brad Shields earlier this month, and Sunday night it was confirmed that he would be heading to Wasps following the 2018 Super Rugby season. His English parentage means he would be immediately eligible for England.

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